Nefertiti ($5 SPECIAL)

"Nefertiti, the fourth album by Miles Davis' second classic quintet, continues the forward motion of Sorcerer, as the group settles into a low-key, exploratory groove, offering music with recognizable themes -- but themes that were deliberately dissonant, slightly unsettling even as they burrowed their way into the consciousness. In a sense, this is mood music, since, like on much of Sorcerer, the individual parts mesh in unpredictable ways, creating evocative, floating soundscapes. This music anticipates the free-fall, impressionistic work of In a Silent Way, yet it remains rooted in hard bop, particularly when the tempo is a bit sprightly, as on "Hand Jive." Yet even when the instrumentalists and soloists are placed in the foreground -- such as Miles' extended opening solo on "Madness" or Hancock's long solo toward the end of the piece -- this never feels like showcases for virtuosity, the way some showboating hard bop can, though each player shines. What's impressive, like on all of this quintet's sessions, is the interplay, how the musicians follow an unpredictable path as a unit, turning in music that is always searching, always provocative, and never boring. Perhaps Nefertiti's charms are a little more subtle than those of its predecessors, but that makes it intriguing. Besides, this album so clearly points the way to fusion, while remaining acoustic, that it may force listeners on either side of the fence into another direction." - All Music Guide

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"Miles Davis' concert of February 12, 1964, was divided into two LPs, with all of the ballads put on My Funny Valentine. These five lengthy tracks (specifically, "All of You," "Stella by Starlight," "All Blues," "I Thought About You," and the title cut) put the emphasis on the lyricism of Davis, along with some strong statements from tenor saxophonist George Coleman and freer moments from the young rhythm section of pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams. This hour-long LP complements the up-tempo romps of Four & More." - Allmusic

"Andy Tillison, the mastermind behind The Tangent, isn’t a wet-behind-the-ears newbie when it comes to the world of prog rock. He knows he’s taken a risk with the band’s new album, Le Sacre Du Travail, but ten years of leading the band on its journey and seven albums to show for it have given him the strength and courage to present something decidedly different in today’s world of prog.Spurred on by the growing resurgence of progressive rock to do something unexpected that stands outside the box, he zeroed in on the idea of creating an orchestra suite in the spirit of artists like Camel and Deep Purple’s dearly departed Jon Lord. The naysayers might consider the new album to be too far afield from what’s considered prog rock these days, but The Tangent enjoys a broad international fanbase that respects the fact their heroes are bent on being as big and bold and as adventurous as the people who originally started the progressive rock movement off in the late ‘60s.“Big and bold” i this case doesn’t mean loud and in-your-face. On the contrary, Le Sacre Du Travail serves up everything from ‘70s rock to smoky blues to jazz to classical music. Given the conceptual nature of the record, Tillison sees it as a soundtrack without a film.“Hopefully that's what I'm getting across with this music,” says Tillison. “I want to give the music the excitement I felt when I first started hearing classical music. That’s why I got into progressive rock music; hearing classical music as a child, I used to be off and away imagining pictures and scenes and telling myself stories to go along with it. What I wanted to do was tell those stories to somebody else with my own music.”Le Sacre Du Travail is, in brief, a story about 7 billion people that all have the same name; “You”. The Tangent wanted to put the listener into the picture, having decided that if they were going to present this story, it had to be something that absorbed everyone on a familiar level.Tillison: “We avoided the concept album idea for a really long time, and finally we’ve done one. Most of the lyrics came pretty easily; I never wrote them down, I just sang what I felt, lots and lots of different things. I had many takes and many ideas, so I had to go back and pick out the best ones, and eventually I got the idea of what I wanted to sing about. It came out very naturally.”Looking back on The Tangent’s catalogue, Tillison – who started his musical career writing punk songs and pays tribute to that era on a the bonus track ‘Hat (Live At Mexborough School 1979’ – admits that The Tangent’s evolution is something of a surprise. At the same time, given that he’s had a decade to refine his craft as a prog artist, “I knew this was coming.” Looking back on his roots, Tillison knows exactly what influenced the outcome of Le Sacre Du Travail“The obvious influence is one of the very first progressive rock albums ever made: The Days Of Future Past by The Moody Blues. They had the idea of breaking a day into pieces and running through it on the album. It must have been there in the back of my mind, although I must say I probably haven't listened to that album in 30 years. I never really thought about it while I was recording, but at some point I realized I was doing the history of a day with an orchestra and a rock band. Deep Purple’s Concerto For Group and Orchestra was a big influence, and at the same time Roger Waters' Amused To Death album is definitely in there.”“We know we’re taking a risk,” Tillison adds. “Some people will go ‘What the hell is this?’ because it’s a big piece of music to get into and you have to find your way around it. But that’s where I want to be; on the leading edge of progressive rock music.”"US jewel box edition with 3 bonus tracks.

Mind blowing set from this early 70s German jazz rock band culled from the vaults of SWF radio. Dzyan was formed by bassist Reinhard Karwatky but the emerging star was guitarist Eddy Marron. The lineup for these sessions is a quintet consisting of guitar, sax, bass, drums, and percussion. High energy jazz rock with a psychedelic undercurrent is the order of the day. Think Mahavishnu Orchestra crossed with Guru Guru. Percussionist Jochen Leuschner also handles the occassional vocal. He's got a great soulful voice that fits in comfortably. High level of musicianship throughout but I have to mention Marron again - his playing really blows my mind. Typical superb job from Long Hair Music - previously unavaialbe photos and detailed liner notes. BUY OR DIE!

"It’s been five years since their last album, Buried Alone: Tales Of Crushing Defeat, but in that time, the lord of Knifeworld, Kavus Torabi, has been very busy indeed. He’s been part of Gong and various other bands, hosted a prog radio show with snooker legend Steve Davis (who is in fact, more interesting than people might have ever suspected) and of course spent his time working on more Knifeworld material.Since his days with Monsoon Bassoon, Torabi has always been someone who writes dense yet strangely hookladen songs. With Knifeworld things are no different, if anything this album is about as ambitious as anything in Torabi’s long and extensive career to date. The Unravelling is an eight song cycle, is performed as an octet, and is nothing if not grandiose in its intensions. The idea of a song cycle might well sound pretentious, and perhaps it is, but what keeps The Unravelling from unravelling into a unwieldy mess is Torabi’s deft songwriting nous and keen ear for a hook. These songs might well form a cycle, but they are all quite capable of operating independently too.Opening track I Can Teach You How To Lose A Fight starts in muted fashion with delicate keyboards and strummed acoustic guitars complimenting Mel Woods’ beautiful but understated vocals. The whirring of clock parts and machinery in the background give a wonky Victorian feel, but also suggest that the cogs that drive the album are slowly clunking into life. Before long the full band has launched into a freakish prog-hymn, like a kind of feral Rick Wakeman freakout. “Why’d you grow those teeth in your heart?” asks Torabi sounding as if his has been chewed up and spat out by an evil Queen. It’s essentially the dialogue of a relationship winding down, but with its winding musical motifs, joyful honking sax parts mixing with solemn vocals and dramatic guitar stabs, the introduction to the album feels like a kind of synopsis of what’s to follow or an overture of sorts. There’s joy, threat, love, anger, fun and a fair bit of magic too.Send Him Seaworthy starts life as a kind of lurching boy’s own adventure, with nautical themes and a sense of wonder seeping into the orchestration, but come the telling conclusion it becomes tale of paranoid love. Don’t Land On Me meanwhile meanders along in a faintly jazzy way until a sharp stabbing rock riff cuts across its bows. Suddenly, it becomes a curious mix of swing, The Osmonds‘ Crazy Horses and Kenny Rogers‘ version of Condition. The Skulls We Buried Have Regrown Their Eyes meanwhile is a woozy old-school nursery rhyme that contains a requisite amount of grotesque imagery.Destroy The World We Love is the pop nugget around which the album truly revolves. It possesses a laid back lollop, a very deliberate hook with the line “secret in your hands” digging deep into the ears early on, but it quickly reveals itself to be an expansive and exquisite journey. Fans of Genesis (and naturally Cardiacs) will find plenty to appreciate here but as usual Knifeworld stop short of being self-indulgent and ensure that the song never disappears up its own firmament.If The Skulls We Buried hinted at something a little unsettling, then This Empty Room Was Once Alive confirms that there is something genuinely creepy lurking under the surface of this album and it just so happens to be in the form of a Victorian ghost story. Fortunately I’m Hiding Behind My Eyes quickly takes over and steers back towards folk inflected prog before things get to terrifying. Once again, the Octet are in fine form creating a bucolic world for the band to inhabit and explore.The key to this album is in its title. It is well written, and beautifully performed, but in order to get the most out of it, a certain amount of unravelling needs to be done. The five year wait has been worthwhile, and Torabi’s Knifeworld seems ready to begin creating its own universe. As strange and creepy as it seems at first, it is fun to spend time exploring." - MusicOMH

Excellent remaster of one of the greatest mellotron albums of all time! Not even sure where to begin as this album is loaded with masterpiece after masterpiece. Comes with an unreleased track as a bonus cut.

"Osada Vida, one of the most interesting Polish bands on the prog-metal scene, return with a brand new album. “Particles” is their first release after the line-up change in 2012, when Marek Majewski (ex-Acute Mind) joined the band as their new vocalist. New album includes 9 new tracks plus a brilliant cover of Metallica's track "Master of Puppets". One of the tracks include a guest vocal appearance by Sivy known from the Polish metal band Tuff Enuff.New album was just reviewed by the ProgArchives’ journalist:“The album sees a natural evolution in the band's approach, rather than wholesale changes. The cover art offers an immediate indication of this, being lighter and simpler than previous albums. The concept album approach is set aside in favour of presenting nine strong, individual pieces each intended to stand alone as a complete piece.The opening track, 'Hard-Boiled Wonderland' will be familiar to those who investigated the band's first DVD last year, as it was the only unreleased song included in that gig. The track blends influences such as Yes and King Crimson in an off-beat but rhythmic heavy guitar driven piece. While the pounding riffs are deliciously heavy, the feel is lighter than previous albums. 'Stronger' is the first of the tracks to fully reveal the band's stated ambition for this album of presenting something more accessible while retaining the musical integrity that has served them so well to date. The highlight of the song is some fine guitar and keyboards interplay between Rafał Paluszek and Bartek Bereska.(…)Overall, an album that represents quite a shift for Osada Vida. While excellent musicianship and fine production may be taken as read, the generally more accessible nature of the songs should appeal to a wider fan base while continuing to satisfy those who have followed the band thus far.”Osada Vida is one of the most interesting Polish bands on the prog-rock scene. Their discography includes three demos and three well received official releases - “Three Seats Behind a Triangle” (2006/2007), “The Body Parts Party” (2008), “Uninvited Dreams” (2009). Their albums feature elaborately beautiful music in the vein of Yes, Porcupine Tree, Pain Of Salvation and Riverside. In early July, Osada Vida released their first live DVD entitled “Where The Devils Live” featuring the recording of their live appearance at the Wyspianski Theater in Katowice, Poland in Autumn 2011. The band recently debuted in a new improved line-up - they have added a new vocalist Marek Majewski, previously known from the band Acute Mind. Osada Vida is also recognized worldwide - they played at the famous US' ROSfest 2011 and at the beginning of October 2012 they were a part of Israeli ProgStage festival where they performed next to Andromeda, The Flower Kings or Orphaned Land."

Originally known as Spriguns Of Tolgus, the band led by the husband and wife team of Mike and Mandy Morton got signed to Decca and became simply known as Spriguns. The band's stock in trade is traditional British folk very similar to Steeleye Span. Violinist Tom Ling plugs in adding a bit of a rock feel.

Tiger Moth Tales is the working name for British multi-instrumentalist Peter Jones. Mr. Jones has great facility on all instruments and all the more impressive considering he is blind. He's also a fine vocalist, having had a run on the British X-Factor competition.Cocoon is a conceptual piece based around the four seasons. The album has a contemporary sound but there are some obvious old school references. Genesis, Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips solo work seems to be an influence as is the carnival elements of Haken. In many ways I'm reminded of Big Big Train - one would think they drank from the same well. Take something old and create something fresh. No metal here although some flashes of heavy guitar now and then which work well against the acoustic bits. Hackett vs. Phillips. Not sure what it is about the British prog musicians but every once in awhile they create something that has a certain peaceful, tranquil vibe. I often refer back to that old "Rain" album. Long on mood and maybe short on chops. Here we have the mood but Mr. Jones has injected the chops as well. Highly recommended.

"Two years ago, a virtually unknown Russian band released a debut with chamber classical orchestration, gorgeous multi-layered vocals, and the occasional modern rock touch. Very few initially noticed it, but eventually by word of mouth, it became an unexpected favorite 2012 album in progressive rock, despite the scarcity of progressive rock elements. Listeners there mainly rated on songwriting and enjoyment.Now, we have a second iamthemorning album, expanding on the elements from the first album. A confident, mature album that will likely bring rave reviews all over the place given the band is not as obscure as in 2012.The music is once again heavily influenced by classical music. Vocals and piano continue creating the foundation of the music, with orchestral instrument, drums, and modern rock sounds adding layers whenever needed. Even the modern rock sounds are used in a very classical, 'iamthemorning' way.The added complexity of the music was a risk. After all, the debut's instantly rewarding melodies and its safe, if brilliant, songwriting approach made it very difficult for many listener to honestly hate such an album. Now, we're dealing with complexity levels more to the tune of classical music and progressive rock. This is now easily categorized as progressive rock, with less direct melodies, knotty musical ideas, occasionally long songs, more in-depth instrumentation and lyricism. The risk is that I enjoyed the first listen less than the first listen of the debut. However, I cannot decide which album I prefer now. I feel like this one has a few minor flaws based on the risk-taking approach, compared to the near-perfection pop of the debut. However, there are even more 'WOW!' moments here in my opinion, some of the very best musical passages I perceive to come across.Flaws? I seem to only gripe about the slow development of their last full song, the samples in 'Howler' and the beginning of 'K.O.S' with a repetitive, awkward drum beat and one-chord guitar riff. Luckily, the latter two songs are overall highly interesting and dynamic songs otherwise, which is why I said the flaws are not severe as they involve a small fraction of two songs.Strengths? It's hard to name them all. The intermissions remain impressive. The first one has such a captivating atmosphere, I can't imagine anyone being hard-pressed to say 'nah' and stop playing the album. The fourth intermission (titled XII) almost reaches song-like status in length, starting with classical violin and continuing with mesmerizing piano. The last intermission is almost transcendental in a spiritual sense.And then you have the songs and they are so, so good. All those subtle melodies and exciting instrumentation in 'Howler', the beautiful 'To Human Misery' with a very captivating main melody yet also with a lot of subtle instrumentation. I should try not to overuse the phrase 'subtle complexity', but I think that word really describes this album. Subtle complexity is what makes this album work so well: you latch on into some obvious melodies on first listen, but then all those little details won't make you lose interest. Every instrument plays melodies, sometimes simultaneously.'Romance' and '5/4' sound a bit like more intricate version of Tori Amos music. They are whimsical, enchanting yet quite complex in instrumentation. Those little details like the muted violin melodies and brief 'shredding' electric guitar that somehow sounds mellow. The '5/4' song is mostly in 6/4 actually, but when it shifts to a 5/4 meter playing a carnival-like atmosphere, it's pure genius, even if it sounds like a horrible idea at first listen. It's an odd choice for a single. I thought it would be 'The Simple Story' which is more instantly recognizable with its melodies and the great piano line near the end. 'Crowded Corridors' is possibly their most accomplished composition to date and also their longest by far at nearly 9 minutes. It begins relatively subdued with their typical instrumentation and vocalizations, if more haunting than usual. Something else going for it is the more 'epic', dramatic moments that work incredibly well. It'd be interesting if they revisit this approach to songwriting in later albums. A particular highlight, besides the obvious piano solo in the latter half, is a slow melody at minute 3 being revisited at the very end at a faster pace.By the way, most of these songs deviate from a typical song structure to help make it more impactful and dynamic. The song 'Gerda' starts very soft and delicate but later sounds very empowering and grand: it's yet another great song. 'Os Lunatum' starts as an outstanding piano + vocal duet, both at their very best, especially during the song's main hook. Guitars later become dominant on the song's instrumental section. The song concludes with a full band sound, the progression from the very beginning being very natural.'K O S' may be marginally a less enjoyable song here because of that first minute which sounds repetitive and lacks what I like about the band. The rest is an interesting experiment as they veer towards a progressive rock / alternative rock sound without fully losing their trademark vocals, pianos, and subtle way to adding melodic layers. I love the way it ends, reprising the intro in such a way that almost redeems it. The 'Reprise of Light no Light' is another lesser favorite, developing in a slow fashion that sometimes tests my patience. I do love that it, along with the last intermission, ends with peaceful, abstract noise.In the end, they have accomplished a very difficult feat, given the high standard the set themselves with their debut. This second album is very intelligent music as well as very deep, emotional music. It touches me. In the end, despite the occasional flaw, it's a masterpiece and I anticipate it being consistently among my favorite pieces of music regardless of genre alongside their debut." - ProgArchives

Live recording from 2012 at the Rites of Spring Festival in Gettysburg PA USATracklist CD1:When the world is caving inWhere earth meets the skyTurn it upDo U tango?1969EternallyCD2:Send a message from the heartUndertow/When the world is caving in repriseJonas Reingold: BassguitarMorgan Ågren: DrumsGöran Edman: VocalsNils Erikson: Keys and VocalsLalle Larsson: KeysKrister Jonsson: Guitars

"After over two years from the event, we can still hear today the echoes of that memorable Italian progressive rock night.That Saturday 6th November 2010 the same Locanda delle Fate went first on stage, playing their masterpiece “Forse le lucciole non si amano più” almost in its entirety, adding the then-unreleased songs “Sequenza circolare” and “La giostra”, later included in the recent “The missing fireflies” (2012). Locanda delle Fate's today line-up includes four original members - Leonardo Sasso (vocals), Oscar Mazzoglio (keyboards), Luciano Boero (bass guitar) and Giorgio Gardino (drums).Once available only as vinyl, “Live in Bloom” is here reissued on CD/DVD; the first 1000 copies come in a special lavish format, comprising a hard-cover mini-booklet inside a horizontal slipcase (15 x 25cm).Compared to its previous release, this edition finally contains, both on the CD and the DVD, the entire Locanda delle Fate’s concert, which could not be included as a whole in the space of a single LP. The sound quality is excellent, and the visual part has been professionally recorded with a 4-cam system.To sum it all, this is a release not to be missed by Italian prog fanatics, especially who was present during that Progvention 2010 night, and also an important document that testimonies how the genre is still today very much alive!"

Fourth album from this outstanding jazz metal band from Hungary getting outside exposure with their signing to IQ's Giant Electric Pea label. Special Providence started out their career as a pure fusion band - not unlike Tribal Tech and Return To Forever. With their third album, Soul Alert, the band injected a heavier metal presence primarily in the guitarwork. Essence Of Change carries on from Soul Alert in terms of heaviness and the use of distortion but at the same time there is clearly more of a jazz/fusion emphasis in the writing. This gives us a nicely balanced sound that has a lot of cross over appeal. Liquid Tension Experiment and Morglbl fans will love this and I expect open minded fans of RTF and Mahavishnu will enjoy hearing the young kats update the sound they developed in the 70s. Expect a non-stop assault of laser beam synth solos and blistering distortion laced guitar solos. Yeah this one hits the sweet spot and after many future spins I suspect this will sit at the top of their already impressive discography. BUY OR DIE!!